EDITORIAL: A second bridge from Navarre?

Published: Friday, August 9, 2013 at 05:34 PM.

One of government’s vital functions is facilitating transportation: building roads, widening roads, erecting bridges and keeping those traffic arteries open. When people are free to move from Point A to Point B, commerce is improved and the economy is strengthened.

That’s why Santa Rosa County commissioners are smart to start talking NOW about building a second bridge from Navarre across Santa Rosa Sound to Navarre Beach.

The existing two-lane Navarre Beach Bridge, particularly at its northern end where it meets U.S. Highway 98, is choked with traffic every summer. Thousands of motorists crowd the bridge to enter or leave Navarre Beach. It’s an aggravation and, worse, a safety hazard.

The commissioners want the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization to conduct a traffic study of U.S. 98, State Road 87 and Gulf Boulevard on Navarre Beach to help determine the feasibility of building a new bridge. They have in mind a four-lane span from SR 87 to county-owned land on the beach. The new bridge would be just west of the old bridge, which would become northbound only.

All of this could be decades away. Now’s the time to gather data, make plans and discuss options.

One option, of course, would be to replace the old bridge instead of building a second one. Commissioner Lane Lynchard referred last week to “a replacement of the existing bridge,” which he said has “a limited lifespan” and is “inadequate on certain days.”

Other options arise when talk turns to bridge funding. The Navarre Beach Bridge was built in 1960 at a cost of $2 million. Tolls were collected from motorists, first 25 cents and later 50 cents. The bridge’s bonds were paid off in 1988 but toll collections continued until mid-2004 — primarily to pay the salaries of the toll collectors.

Bridge tolls should pay for bridges, not to keep government workers employed.

The county thinks a new bridge to Navarre Beach will cost around $160 million. All funding possibilities should be thoroughly explored. But if tolls are collected, they should end when the bridge is paid for.

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One of government’s vital functions is facilitating transportation: building roads, widening roads, erecting bridges and keeping those traffic arteries open. When people are free to move from Point A to Point B, commerce is improved and the economy is strengthened.

That’s why Santa Rosa County commissioners are smart to start talking NOW about building a second bridge from Navarre across Santa Rosa Sound to Navarre Beach.

The existing two-lane Navarre Beach Bridge, particularly at its northern end where it meets U.S. Highway 98, is choked with traffic every summer. Thousands of motorists crowd the bridge to enter or leave Navarre Beach. It’s an aggravation and, worse, a safety hazard.

The commissioners want the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization to conduct a traffic study of U.S. 98, State Road 87 and Gulf Boulevard on Navarre Beach to help determine the feasibility of building a new bridge. They have in mind a four-lane span from SR 87 to county-owned land on the beach. The new bridge would be just west of the old bridge, which would become northbound only.

All of this could be decades away. Now’s the time to gather data, make plans and discuss options.

One option, of course, would be to replace the old bridge instead of building a second one. Commissioner Lane Lynchard referred last week to “a replacement of the existing bridge,” which he said has “a limited lifespan” and is “inadequate on certain days.”

Other options arise when talk turns to bridge funding. The Navarre Beach Bridge was built in 1960 at a cost of $2 million. Tolls were collected from motorists, first 25 cents and later 50 cents. The bridge’s bonds were paid off in 1988 but toll collections continued until mid-2004 — primarily to pay the salaries of the toll collectors.

Bridge tolls should pay for bridges, not to keep government workers employed.

The county thinks a new bridge to Navarre Beach will cost around $160 million. All funding possibilities should be thoroughly explored. But if tolls are collected, they should end when the bridge is paid for.